Say it Again
by BlueBerrySourStraps
Summary: Katie Gardner had her heart broken. Travis Stoll was that heartbreaker. She moved on, built a nice life, and took a career in teaching. Becoming Melanie Stoll's teacher was not on Katie's bucket list, but the sweet girl captured her heart. Can Travis capture it back too? *Cover by LiveLaughLoveTogether13*
1. Old Friends

**Title: **Say it Again**  
Summary: **Katie Gardner just wanted to have a good time at her new job: a pre-school teacher. But when her old 'friend' comes along, secrets unfold. And what about the little kid, Melanie? Will she fall for Travis or will something, or someone get in the way?**  
Disclaimed Characters:** I don't own the PJO characters. Rick Riordan does.  
**Owned character: **I probably own things that you guys don't know about. **  
Rating: **Rating T/M  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters from PJO or HOO.  
**Author's note: **I guess I'm trying out a new story. I haven't written anything other than Percabeth FanFiction, so I decided to try Tratie! I love Tratie: it's my next favorite couple after Percabeth. This is an AU story, so I hope you don't mind. Please read and review, I appreciate it. I will be using the same OC's from my other story, 'Secret Life of Annabeth Chase'. So if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

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**Chapter 1: Old friends**

_Third person's Point of View._

Spring was a beautiful season: she had always liked it. The wind was slightly chilly, but just the right temperature for beautiful spring flowers to grow. Daffodils, Iris, Forsythia, Scilla, Anemone, Tulips, Muscari, Redbud trees, Dogwood trees, Trilium, Hyacinths, Primrose, Lilac, Spiraea, Peonies, and Allium. The once shaven trees grow beautiful flowers, all sorts of colors assorted everywhere.

Spring at her mother's penthouse was beautiful. Her mother's properly treated garden had blossomed with all kinds of flowers, the sky a baby blue, a thin fog seeping through the air. Katie loved staying with her mother at the lonesome penthouse. Taking a walk, or maybe, staying indoors with a book sitting on her lap.

Visiting her mother; it seemed to be a long time ago since she stepped in the cabin. The warmth of the sunshine, the little creak her rocking chair makes when she leans forward. It felt far away.

Maybe a visit wouldn't kill her. She hadn't seen her mother for fourteen years. Ever since she left her family for some over achieving, handsome, arrogant imbecile, life hadn't been great for her dad, sister, and herself. Her sister, Miranda had moved out and the family hadn't heard of her since. Her father slipped into depression and was always at home, drunk, or worse. So when she was ten, she had become the mother of the house, and took care of Miranda until age. So, when she turned of legal age, she had immediately moved out, but regularly visited her father.

She was a grown woman now, a very new one at that. After moving out, she hadn't had a chance to figure out what she wanted to do. Her father used to be a botanist, and expected Katie to follow his footsteps. Katie had other ideas. She had her path set, her future ready to begin, but decided on other dreams instead. She took associates degree, took course in Child development, classroom management and behavior, curriculum methods, instructional design, instructional resources and technology, and parent-child relations. She was one of the youngest preschool teachers to have had many courses and many experience.

Maybe she was always ready to be a preschool teacher, but she felt peaceful. She was starting today, her first day as a teacher. The experience she had was to be an assistant teacher, and that wasn't enough for her. Being with kids, she felt peaceful, and at her best. It was her dream, her calling.

Katie sighed, her brown lock of hair falling into the crystal green eyes. She fidgeted and played with her red chipped nails, and bit her lips. She was nervous: a little wrecked, to be exact. Shuffling her foot, she knocked on the wooden door twice.

_Knock, knock._

A petite woman with amber colored hair and chlorophyll green eyes opened the door, two small dimples adoring her elfish face. She was wearing a green Marc by Marc Jacobs, bright grass green big hearted jacquard top, DKNY black pencil skirt, and nude Odeon pumps. Her wrist was adored with a Marc by Marc Jacobs gold watch, and her small ears: a Karen miller crystal sprinkled diamond stud earrings. Her pale finger's had a gold shimmering nail polish, and the color stood out. She was pretty, beautiful.

"Hello, I'm Juniper Greene. You must be the new teacher." Her smile was bright, the two dimples accentuating the smile. Katie managed a smile through her nervousness and shake Juniper's hand.

"Hi, I'm Katie Gardner." Taking back her hand, Katie bit her lips and shouldered her Meredith Wendell satchel. She picked on her pink peplum Emmy blouse, which she paired with a pair of white capris. She wore a simple: Kate Spade moccasins, since she didn't want to be running around in heels. She was nervous, her first day with little kids that may or may not like her. Clammy hands, and sweating forehead, she smiled again at Juniper. Seeing her nervous face, Juniper let a little laugh, and waved her small hands up and down.

"Oh, you don't have to worry a thing about the kids here. They're all great, really." Her smile turned to a little frown, and her green eyes dimmed.

"It's the parent's sometimes." she whispered, tip toeing to Katie's ear. "They're sometimes a little intense, and arguments start." Katie furrowed her brows, confused. Surely the parents wouldn't get heated up over small arguments.

"Oh, well, I'm sure it's alright." She lamely answered, and took a step in. The room was filled with little toys strewn all over the place, coloring books on the floor, and broken crayons scattered everywhere. It was definitely a little kids room, a messy, but peaceful place.

"Sorry, it's so messy." A new voice echoed off the room and Katie unexpectedly spun around to the source. A bright red head appeared in the room, a shiny smile on her face. Her hair was a mess of red locks, but held the tameness that accentuated her face. The bright green eyes brought out the faint red in her cheeks, and a wisp of hair fell into the woman's eyes.

"Oh, that's okay. It feels more…" looking for a word, Katie bit her lips and searched in her mind.

"It feels like home." Rachel finished and smiled. Katie nodded and looked around the room. The kids weren't there yet, with the time being eight.

"I'm Rachel. I help out Juniper with her nursery side."

"Katie. I'm supposed to be the new teacher here." Rachel smiled, and shook her hand. She was wearing a green tie dye shirt with a pair of jeans, and sneakers. She looked like an artist, for Katie. Maybe she didn't have to worry that much.

"The little ones all come around nine. Except for-" Juniper was abruptly cut off by a door chime and a rustling. A little girl ran in, her ponytail swinging left and right. Her hair was a dark blonde, and eyes bright blue and mischievous. She wore a cute little white dress with a pink satin bow around her waist. She adorned a pair of black ballet flats, and the image of her just reminded Katie of little girls holding lollipops and baskets.

"Hi, Ms. Greene! Hi, Ms. Dare! Oh, ummm…" the little girl looked confusedly at Katie and cocked her head.

"Hey, Juni, Rach. I'm really sorry, but you know, it's really busy." A tall man entered the room, holding a briefcase and a possibly the girls bag. He had sandy brown hair, just a shade darker than the girls, but the same blue eyes. Katie held her breath for a moment as she saw the guys face. He was handsome, nonetheless.

"Oh, that's okay, Travis." Juniper smiled and waved at the girl.

"Good morning, Melanie. Mel, this is Katie. She's going to be your new teacher." Katie smiled and waved, and watched as Melanie returned the smile.

"Hi, Ms. Katie. Can I call you Ms. Katie, or what's your last name? Mine is Stoll. My daddy named my first name Melanie and my middle name is…" she turned to her dad and pouted. "what's my middle name daddy?" Her dad smiled and put down the bag.

"Melanie, your middle name is Katelyn." The little girl smiled brightly again before continuing her rant.

"Oh, yeah. My middle name is Katelyn because my mommy had this name and My last name is Stoll. My daddy works really early and really late. Did you know Roses are sometime used in medicine? Daddy thought me that. Oh, my lunch today is cheese sandwich. What's your lunch today? I'm five." She showed five fingers and counted aloud.

"You can call me Katie. No, need for 'Ms.' and, I do know about roses. My lunch today is chicken salad and pasta." The girl nodded, her ponytail flipping up and down.

"Okay, and you can call me Mel. I really like that name." laughing, she took Rachel's hand. Katie smiled and waved as Rachel led the girl away.

"Bye, Melanie." Katie said as she watched the skirt bounce up and down.

"Bye, bye Katie." Waving her chubby hands, she bounced away. Juniper was talking to the dad, so Katie decided to be some use. Heading towards the father, she took the bag,

"Here, let me help you." Getting the pink sparkly bag, she shouldered the backpack and the lunch box. The father turned around and flashed a smile.

"Thanks, uh…" up close he was more handsome. But something told her not to trust this guy.

"I'm Katie. Katie Gardner." The smile in his face disappeared, a trace of frown lacing his face.

"Say, you look familiar…." He scratched his neck and cocked his head. Katie's eyebrow rose, assuming something else.

"Are you flirting with me?" 'Travis' laughed and shook his head. His sandy brown hair fell into his eyes and a smirk appeared.

"No way, I try to get to know the girl first before getting her in bed." Now Katie was furious. Who did he think he was to just talk to her like she was some kind of prostitute.

"Excuse me, but I don't care who you are and how you're related to my new student." Her fiery-ness had gotten ahead of her, and she bit back a remark.

"I like her already. I'm Travis Stoll." He held out a hand and Katie reluctantly shook it.

"Katie Gardner." Travis's eyes widened. And Katie too, realized in shock. She had wanted to get away from her old life, not come back. Someone she trusted most. He broke her heart and now, he was back to break it again.

"Travis?!"

"Katie?!"

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**Oh a little suspense-y don't you think. I haven't read anything like this for Tratie before and I wanted to try it out. If you have any questions, I'm totally up for answering! **

**Oh, and I don't mind a beta. Though a beta myself…**


	2. A Little Thing Called Fate

**Title: **Say it Again**  
Summary: **Katie Gardner just wanted to have a good time at her new job: a pre-school teacher. But when her old 'friend' comes along, secrets unfold. And what about the little kid, 'Melanie'? Will she fall for Travis or will something or someone get in the way?**  
Disclaimed Characters:** I don't own the PJO characters. Rick Riordan does.  
**Owned character: **I probably own things that you guys don't know about. **  
Rating: **Rating T/M  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters from PJO or HOO.  
**Author's Note: E'llo peeps! Just watched the Wedding Planner, so cute! Anyways, thanks for the reviews guys, appreciate it so much!  
Thanks to…  
**toe walker, Xxthe-time-thiefxX, SwiftieClaire, LiveLaughLoveTogether13, Guest, books R fun, GigglyPuff07, trio-of-friends, numbah435spiritsong, BlondieGuest, writer2be14, NicoleDaughterOfPoseiden, Gryffindorable, Atlanta Hermera Kane, Lightning-AND'Death, magicchalkdust, MaryMMC, cvb, Tiny Rules. **  
Wow! NINETEEN Reviews! Thanks, guys! Now, please welcome, my beta, 'toe walker'! Yay! If you see any mistakes, please blame her, LOL, JK. Don't. She's wonderful; please accept her as a beta!**

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**Chapter 2: A little thing called fate.**

Juniper looked at them, side to side, and nervously fidgeted as the two glared at each other. Travis Stoll was one of her many working dad with the cutest girl. He was a single working dad, with many problems he faced as the CEO. His wife died years ago; lung cancer, they said. Travis was a hard working father, and a very good one at that. At times his secretary, or his brother, Connor, picked Melanie up, driving away to the big old house on the villa.

Katie had glared, and twisted her mouth to a big frown, the old memory still burning hot in her mind. Her hatred for this man increased as he smirked right at the brunette, not looking at least a little sorrowful or guilty. She played with the pink straps of Melanie's princess bag, while she carried her own bag. Travis and Katie had a stare down and for a while both of them made absolutely no move to make a single peep.

"I see you two know each other?" Juniper let out nervously as she watched tension grow between the two adults. Travis sighed, picked up his suitcase and held out his hand for her to shake.

"Hello, Ms. Gardner. My name is Travis Stoll, Melanie's father." He started fresh and out of the past, something Katie had to let go in order for her life to be back in schedule. Though he did have that annoying, stupid, charming-no, not charming-aggravating smirk, he still looked like he was in his teenage years with a little more of a muscle and a head taller than petite little Katie.

'_Oh, look at him Kates. He's gorgeous! What a stud!' _her inner Katie battled with her, the stupid annoying voice she got when she saw someone hot, or cute.

'**No, he's a stupid, lying, heartbreaker, don't get caught up in drama again, Katie!' **now that was her smart Katie, the angel, so you can say. Her more rational, intelligent inner Katie.

'_Oh, please, what would you know about love?' _Katie fought with her inner dilemma, earning some weird looks at the surprisingly quiet girl. She finally took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, hating every moment.

"If you can be civil, I guess I will have to as well. Hello, Mr. Stoll, my name is Katie Gardner. It's a _pleasure_ to meet you, sir." Though she knew Travis was a year older, she couldn't help but put the title 'sir' as if addressing an old man. Travis grimaced and shook her hand, gripping the girl's small fingers. She wanted to slap him, hurt him for what he did to her, but she was going to be the better person and maybe ignore his presence unless necessary.

"Well," Juniper started, afraid of causing drama in front of incoming kids. Several of them had started showing up, and were now confusingly staring at the two…couple?

"Sorry Juniper." Travis sighed, and turned his head away from Katie. Her heart was beating fast, an angry thumping along with possibly a little love. She shook her head and turned to the parents of some of the kids. Travis sighed, while taking his briefcase, bidding goodbye to Juniper. He ignored Katie, frowning, he left the center. Katie on the other hand, was greeting the kids and parents while shaking their hand.

"Hello!" she let out her cheerful self, and introduced herself as a new teacher. "My name is Katie Gardner, and I just started today." She smiled and as did the kids' parents.

"Oh, hello, Katie." One of the parents stepped forward, her caramel hair flowing and framing her heart shaped face. "My name is Meredith Fowler. This is my daughter, Serena. It's a pleasure to meet you." Katie smiled again as she shook hands with Meredith.

In a few minutes or so, more of the parents started coming in, introducing their kids and their self. So far, she had met Anthony and his son, Sean, Andrew and his twin daughter and son Alice and Kyle, and Meredith and her daughter Serena, who had actually talked to Katie.

"It was nice meeting you all." Katie waved goodbye to Meredith, Anthony, and Andrew while taking the kids inside to her classroom.

Her new classroom was just what she wanted: cozy, comforting, and school-like. There were a new stack of pencils, chalkboard, colorful chalk, crayons, some toys, and a big table with many small chairs and one big chair for her. It was perfect.

"Oh, Ms. Katie!" Melanie's chubby hands waved through the air, as she was already seated next to Katie's big girl chair. Katie smiled while leading Serena, Sean, Alice, and Kyle to the table, while shuffling her bag and everyone else's.

"Okay, class. Since there aren't many of us right now, let's just do some coloring. Melanie, do you mind getting some coloring books? And you guys can all take out your **Box of Crayons.****(1)**." The children all sat down, Kyle sitting closest to Alice, Sean next to Kyle, and Serena next to Sean. Katie sat down on the plush black chair and watched Melanie hand out each kid a coloring book and watched as Melanie herself took out her box of crayons and started coloring her little princess a nice shade of pink.

She was observing her set of batch. Alice and Kyle seemed very close with each other, Kyle always willing to help his younger twin. While Kyle looked like his father, with blond hair, Alice was different where she adorned gorgeous silky red hair. But both siblings had pretty blue-green eyes with specks of gold flickering in them. Alice was frail while Kyle was the stronger one. But both siblings had each other's back.

Sean looked like his father, with a tuff of chocolate brown hair, but with golden brown eyes. While Anthony had warm brown eyes, Sean's eyes were the color of bronze, a beautiful color contrasting his skin. Though he was five, he worked studiously, and looked about as if he was always willing to do work.

Serena was the opposite. Just by the five minutes Katie has been with her, she could already tell that Serena was the mischievous type. Her dainty fingers were always ready to plan out pranks, or she was always ready with comebacks. She was graced with dark brown hair and pretty hazel eyes, though her four year old self did ruin the sharp features that her mother possessed.

"Miss, how do you know my daddy?" Melanie asked, her bright blue eyes shining. What scared her was how much she looked like her father, minus the hair. Her hair looked like Katie's when Katie herself was younger. Her cute little button nose looked like Katie's too. The more she stared the more she had snippets of images of herself when she was younger. Shaking the thought out of her head, she smiled back at Melanie, hiding the pain her student's father had brought out.

"Well, once upon a time, your daddy and I were actually good friends, sweetie. But then something horrible happened, and we were no longer friends." She didn't want to crush the poor kid's soul. If she told Melanie her father was a jackass heartbreaker (Excuse her French), Melanie would surely think of her father poorly.

"Oh," Melanie's eyes misted, but she swung her hands. "So, are you and daddy friends again?" Katie looked into those blue eyes and sighed. Smiling slightly, she ruffled the blonde's head.

"Yes, I suppose you can say that." Melanie cheered and advanced back on her coloring.

"Do you like flowers?" Serena asked, as she peered in her teacher's drawing. A pink Lily was blooming in the white sheet of paper. Katie grinned, and brought Serena to her lap.

"Actually, I love them. Do you know what kind of flower this is?" Before Serena can answer, Melanie stepped in, and answered.

"Lily." Surprise was etched in Katie's face as the girl answered correctly. Serena 'oohed' and proceeded to slide out of Katie's lap and go back on her drawing.

"How do you know?" Katie asked, surprised at the knowledge of flowers the little girl had.

"Daddy told me mommy loves flowers. Her favorites are spring flowers like Tulips and cherry blossoms!"

"Oh, well, sweet heart, its Lily's, alright. Well, tell your mommy that she has wonderful taste in flowers. I love flowers too, you know. Spring flowers, especially." Melanie looked down and twisted her hands. She bit her small lips and sighed.

"I can't tell my mommy." Katie, shocked, tilted her head and turned to look at her.

"Why can't you tell your mommy?"

"She's dead."

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"It was nice meeting you, Katie." Meredith smiled as she picked up her daughter. "Maybe we can meet up with some of my friends. Alice and Kyle's mother would be delighted to meet you! Oh, and Annabeth too." She smiled and left Katie her number while Serena waved goodbye.

"Oh, bye, Miss Katie!" she waved her hands and was put into the car. Katie smiled and waved, the second of the last gone. Melanie was sitting on the red chair, waiting patiently for her father. Katie knelt down and smiled softly at the five year old.

"When is your father coming to pick you up?" Melanie shrugged, and hid her face from Katie with her dark blonde locks.

"Um, sometimes he picks me up really late."

"Well, do you want to call your dad?"

"Okay." Katie handed Melanie her phone and watched as the girl dialed her father's number. The phone rang twice before a woman answered with a prim 'hello?'

"Lenna, when is my daddy coming to pick me up?"

"_Your father is a busy man, and he won't be able to pick you up today. Let me get him on the phone for you."_

"Okay."

"_Hello?"_

"Daddy, I thought we were going to have movie night today!"

"_I'm sorry, sweetie, maybe tomorrow."_

"Who's coming to pick me up?" Katie signaled Melanie to give her the phone and Melanie silently obliged.

"_I think Lenna can. Maybe you can stay with-"_

"Sorry, Mr. Stoll, this is Katie Gardner."

"_Look, Katie, I'm not really in the mood to-"_

"May I have permission to take your daughter to my house? I'll take good care of her." She promised, and crossed her hands for the hope.

"_Are you sure? She can be a handful, and I don't think…"_

"No, it's alright. I would love to have her spend a time at my house."

"_Okay, then."_ Reluctantly he agreed, and gave him his address to pick up some clothes for Melanie. _"There's a spare key in her backpack, so you can use that."_

"Alright, thank you." Then, she promptly hung up on the jerk and smiled wide at the sad girl.

"Good news, Melanie! You get to stay with me."**(2)** Melanie's eyes lit up as she jumped up and down.

"Omigosh, really?! That is so cool, Miss Katie!" Then she shrugged her shoulder bag and waited for Katie to get ready.

"Okay, Juniper, I'll be signing out Melanie. Is it the same time tomorrow?" Juniper nodded and waved goodbye to the two with a smile.

"Bye, Miss Greene! Oh, I can't wait to see your house, Miss Katie. My house is too big, I hate it!"

"Oh, but it's not really a house, sweetie. It's more of an apartment."

"That's alright; it beats my house any day!"

Katie sighed and smiled at the aura of bubbliest that Melanie possessed. Taking her hand, she led Melanie to her silver Honda. Melanie was then buckled up in the backseat with her pink bag next to her. Katie buckled herself up in the driver's seat and started driving.

"Oh, wait," Melanie's voice rung out in the dark car abruptly stopping Katie from driving. "Do you think Charlie will let us in?" Katie cocked her head and tilted her eyes to Melanie.

"Who's Charlie?"

"Charlie's our security guard."

**Oh, my, gosh, I finally updated! Wow, it's been two months and I am SO SORRY! It's just that I needed to update Secret Life of Annabeth Chase, because that story is the first story I published, and I want to finish it! So please check it out if you haven't yet!**

**(1) Box of Crayons is a wonderful story by Lightning-AND'Death. Please go check it out!**

**(2) And I know taking kids home isn't the easiest thing to do and you have to do all kind of paperwork shit, but for the sake of this story, please just continue on with it! This is FANFICTION after all. **

"**Secret life of Annabeth Chase"- Annabeth Chase, Bethany Carter, and Adriana Cane. Three different people in one body. When Annabeth gets a chance as Hollywood Golden girl, she throws away her old life and starts another one. Will her secrets remain untold, or will someone ruin her identity? What will happen with Percy Jackson?**


	3. Hidden Secrets?

**Title:** Say it AgainSummary: Katie Gardner just wanted to have a good time at her new job: a pre-school teacher. But when her old 'friend' comes along, secrets unfold. And what about the little kid, Melanie? Will she fall for Travis or will something or someone get in the way?  
**Disclaimed Characters:** I don't own the PJO characters. Rick Riordan does.**  
Owned character:** I probably own things that you guys don't know about.  
**Rating:** Rating T/M  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters from PJO or HOO.  
**Author's note:** The Inked Pen, SwiftieClaire, meadow-music, , numbah435spiritsong, Atlanta Kane, little Miss Uncertified, trio-of-friends, Lighting-AND'Death, newfoundedfantasy, Pug1998, Guest, Guest, lovedoesn'thurt, JENNY (X2).

Thank you everyone :) Honestly, sixteen reviews, I'm crying ;( Thank you all so much! I appreciate them so much, so thanks :) Oh, one more thing, I changed this bringing Melanie to Katie's house because I know it's hardly possible for that to happen. So, instead, Katie is just to bring back Melanie to Melanie's house. Hope that clears it up!

Lol, check out "lovedoesn'thurt's" stories! She's amazing! And big thanks to JENNY! Lol, hi Jenny: D

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**Chapter 3: Hidden Secrets?**

"Hey, Melanie," a buff looking security guard came across her view as she entered the mansion. He looked taken back as he stared at Katie, his big brown eyes darting to Melanie and Katie. His stance slipped forward as he smiled tightly at the two.

"Charlie! Hi," Melanie brought her chubby arms out of the window to wave at the burly guy. "This is my teacher Miss Katie! She's a new teacher at the school and she likes flowers!" Charlie grinned at the hyperactive girl and smiled at Katie.

"Hello, Katie. How may I help you today?" Katie sheepishly smiled, tapping her fingers on the handle wheel.

"Well, Mr. Stoll had graciously allowed me to bring back Melanie here. He did say he was going to be late today." Charlie nodded, though he looked apprehensive.

"I suppose I can call Travis and know for sure. By the way, my name is Charles. Charlie's a nickname given to me by this adorable girl." Katie nodded, understanding. His job was to secure the place and bringing some random stranger was going to be a big 'no-no' on the job. Melanie giggled as he stepped away from the car and into his office.

"It's actually from his girlfriend, Silena. She's really nice; and a real shopaholic." A minute later, Charles returned and gave Katie a lopsided grin.

"Travis answered. He gave the okay sign, so you're allowed to go in." giving the girls a thumbs up, he pressed a few colorful buttons and the metal gates opened. Katie revved her car and drove into the place. It was a ravishing looking mansion with a Greek like structure and architecture that accented many of the pieces in the garden. A big fountain was placed in the middle, and beautiful spring flowers around it, framing the waterfall. In shorter words, it was a palace. Awestruck by the style, she stopped the car and opened the door. Melanie unbuckled and opened the heavy door with her two arms.

"Thi-this is your home?" Katie stuttered, surprised that Travis had any sense of style. He was normally a jerk so this was very surprising.

"Yup," Melanie grinned, popping the 'p'. "Daddy had his best friend's girlfriend design this whole house! Annie's the best at archi-archa-arche?" she stumbled on her words on the word, 'architecture'.

"Architecture," Katie automatically corrected.

"Yeah, that!" Melanie nodded enthusiastically. Pulling her bag out, she opened her front pocket to reveal a key with a flower chain stuck to it.

"Is that your key?"

"Yeah," she twisted the lock while turning in the key to its hole. The door opened to reveal a big opened space, a wooden floor board that was newly coated in wax. A China vase had been placed on the wood stand nearby, looking delicately familiar.

"Come in, Miss Katie!" Melanie placed her bag on the floor and ran in, her ponytail swinging. One maid arrived to grab the bag and bowed to Katie.

"Welcome, Ms. Gardner. Mr. Stoll has seen to call the head maid to announce of your arrival." Katie hesitantly went in, and smiled at the maid.

"Thanks, I guess," the maid nodded, her eyes never leaving Katie. She bit her lips and walked away, still carrying little Melanie's bag.

"Miss Katie!" Melanie's sweet voice rang out to Katie's ears, as she stood still at the front door.

"Right, um, coming," she called out to her student, and walked towards the door Melanie entered. The room was another one of those awestruck looking rooms, which Katie really didn't have the energy to talk about. The whole room had given her a familiar memory and one hell of a migraine. She opened her mouth to speak, but one step in the room, she promptly fell towards the Persian rug, hands sprawled and head first to the floor.

The last thing she saw was Melanie's pale, shocked face.

* * *

A big throbbing pain had awoken her from her slumber. She groaned, holding her head with her hand while leaning on one elbow to prop herself up. Taking a look around her surroundings, she noticed bright blue orbs peering closely down to her. Melanie blinked, and handed Katie an ice pack.

"The maid told me to give this to you," Katie gratefully took the cold pack and pressed it on her temple. The pain subsided a little, but the throb was still lingering.

"Thanks," she smiled tightly at the little girl. Melanie grinned, but her eyes held a little concern to it.

"Are you okay, Miss Katie? Do you need anything? Daddy said he's coming home now, so it won't be long." Katie's shook her head, frowning at the thought of 'daddy' coming home.

"No thanks, Melanie. Do you mind telling me what time it is?"

"It's already eight," Mentally cursing, she propped herself up a little further more. She was out for a whole hour. She must have scared the crap out of Melanie when she promptly fainted on her rich looking carpet. A loud jingling of keys was heard from outside the house, and Melanie raced towards the door to greet the person.

"Daddy!" her perky voice rung out the quiet room as she tackled her father in a bear-hug. Travis grinned at her only daughter and embraced her big hug.

"Hey, Mel," Travis' eyes glazed over to Katie, who was still leaning against the plush couch.

"You alright, Katie?" He placed his case next to the couch, and looked curiously into Katie's eyes. Katie nodded, though the throb had been hurting her like a drum.

"Yeah, thanks," Melanie frowned and rubbed her arms unconsciously.

"Daddy, Miss Katie fainted when she stepped into this room. Is there something wrong here?" Travis' eyes widened and he bit his lips. She was starting to regain something; something he truly didn't want her to know.

"Really?" he replied faking nonchalance at the particular statement. "Well, I don't think anything's wrong here. Maybe she ate something bad?" Travis knew it was pathetic. Sure, Melanie could fall for it, but Katie was another thing. She was a smart, observant girl, and surely she wouldn't fall for something that stupi-

"Yeah, probably," Katie nodded, holding her brown haired head. Travis mentally face palmed at her naivetés, but nodded nonetheless. Melanie looked content with the reason and proceeded to hop away to the kitchen. Travis uncomfortably cleared his throat, looking at his former girlfriend. Katie noticed the tension, and smiled at him.

"Look," she started, feeling rather reminiscent about her memories with him. "I know we were serious once, but I've forgotten and moved on, so there isn't much need to feel so uneasy with me. I doubt you even thought of me, considering you have a child now." She looked thoughtful for a moment before opening her mouth again. "Not that I'm complaining or anything; she's such a sweet girl." Travis sighed, a painful thought searing across his mind.

"Right," Travis flicked his sandy brown hair and tugged the locks. Katie's mind flashed a scene which she wasn't sure she was ever aware of.

_Sirens flashed from left and right, a big blaring noise piercing the whole city. Two cars were crashed with one another, glass and pieces of the cars all scattered around. One car was a big truck, perched upside down with the driver safe in the side. His clothes had bits of glass stuck in his hair, clothes, and skin. His head was bleeding, but other than that, he looked fine. The other car was a big silver one, the whole car smashed, and upside down. It was in between a pole and the truck, being sandwiched from the two objects._

_Polices were swarming the place, looking for the lost woman in the silver car, and were asking questions to the truck driver. Ambulances carrying paramedics were attending the wounded, while searching for the woman. Many civilians were watching the scene with horrified eyes and tears. A man about twenty was screaming a woman's name, tears streaming down his eyes, his hair matted down. He was kneeling over the shard pieces of the car, yelling, screaming, and shouting._

"_Help her! Get her out of there!" he yelled, his shout reaching to the citizens. The car was finally pulled away, and a woman who looked about twenty was found, bloody and unconscious. The paramedics pulled her away inside the ambulance, tending to her fatal injuries. The man climbed in, mouthing something no one understood._

Katie cleared her mind, and shook the thoughts away from her head. What on earth was that? What did she see? Many question formed in her mind as she recalled the flashback she had had.

"You alright, Katie?" Travis's concerned eyes took her back to reality. Katie tightly smiled, and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Travis smiled, and sat on the couch. Melanie bounced back a minute later, grinning from ear to ear.

"Miss Katie! Do you want to have dinner with us? It's sometimes lonely because it's only me and my daddy, but sometimes the maid brings flowers which are tulips depending on the season, but did you know that tulips is originally a word from France?" Melanie's nonstop talking had eased the tension between Travis and Katie, and Katie had to stifle her giggle.

"Mel," Travis' voice had the girl stop, her breathing becoming irregular from the talking. She sighed, and calmed her breathing.

"Oops, ha-ha, sorry daddy." He grinned, and smoothed out the ruffles on her dress. Melanie's big pleading eyes had Katie melting in seconds. Katie conceded and nodded her brown hair.

"Of course, if it's alright with your father," she looked pointedly at Travis. Travis scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, but agreed.

"Sure, why not." Travis helped Katie up, pulling her up. The force had pushed Katie into his chest, and she let out a groan. His solid abs had hit her head, giving her more of a migraine than what she had before. Travis grunted, stepping away from her.

"You okay?" Katie contained her blush and nodded.

"Um, yeah, thanks," Travis smirked, and walked towards the kitchen. Katie followed, breathing in the smell of delicious pasta.

"It smells good," Katie said. Travis nodded, and pulled out a seat for her. Katie seated herself on the plush chair and mentally rolled her eyes at the comfortableness. Was Travis this critical for every piece of furniture while they were dating? Maybe it was his wife's taste, or the architect, but overall, everything in the house seemed to be exquisite.

"The maid's cooking pasta today. Melanie loves tomatoes for some unknown reason, so we always have it. It's surprisingly good and very healthy." Travis remarked. Katie snickered. Travis was caring about health? Had hell froze over? Maybe his wife had changed him up. Something even Katie couldn't do.

"That's good. It's very important for kids like Melanie. You should always eat vegetables starting at a young age." Travis seated himself in front of Katie, and Melanie was sitting next to him on her pull up. She was already stuffing her face with the tomato paste pasta, enjoying her food. A red plaster of tomato was around her mouth while she slurped her noodles. Katie had to control her laughter at the adorable looking girl in front of her.

"Mel, slow down," Travis reprimanded his daughter, wiping the girl's face with a napkin. Katie reached over and brought her napkin to her chin.

"You have some up here, sweetie," she wiped the substance away, and chuckled at Melanie's surprised face.

"Oops! Sorry!" Melanie proceeded to eat again, this time, more cleanly. Travis sighed, and twirled a piece of spaghetti with his fork.

"So, Katie, how have you been?" Katie raised her eyebrow.

"You want to know about me now?" Travis shrugged.

"You've changed. I just wanted to know."

"Well, I took some degree in teaching, as you can tell. I've always wanted to be a preschool teacher, and New York had some places I wanted to apply to. And, I wanted to get away from Denver; too many memories there." She explained while eating the noodle. Travis looked away guiltily and hid his eyes from his bangs. One bad memory had been because of him, but he wasn't about to bring it up.

"Right," Katie nodded. She had been nodding too much recently.

"Why are you here?" she asked. Travis shrugged.

"I wanted to get away from my dad. And I had a family, and some business to take care of here." They were both so subtle, that it was hard to keep up a conversation. The awkward tension had even silenced the poor girl, who was usually so talkative. Melanie finally spoke up, and nervously laughed.

"Um, so, how about dessert?"

* * *

**I know its short and all, but I'm seriously just blocked by writer's block. I mean, I'm almost finished with one story, then, I have another story going on, which just really messes my brain. On top of that, I'm super into Naruto, and watching all the seasons from the top. Anyone else obsessed? Because I would just talk hours and hours with you about it. Naruto is awesome! Gah, sorry!**

**OMG, anyone excited for Sea of Monsters? I can't wait to watch it! And I'm going to Disney on the 24****th****, so no update there, and the 25****th**** because it's my birthday ~ Wheee! Kay, toodles guys!**

**Reviews make me happy. Please review as an early birthday present!**


	4. Panini's and library

**Title:** Say it Again

**Summary: **Katie Gardner just wanted to have a good time at her job: a pre-school teacher. But when her old 'friend' comes along, secrets unfold. And what about the little kid: Melanie? Will she fall for Travis or will something or someone get in the way?  
**Disclaimed Characters:** I don't own the PJO characters. Rick Riordan does.**  
Owned character:** I probably own things that you guys don't know about.  
**Rating:** Rating T/M  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any characters from PJO or HOO.  
**Author's note:** toe walker, wereguardian, numbah435spiritsong, newfoundedfantasy, SwiftieClaire, Pug1998, MaryMMC, NicoleDaughterOfPoseiden, Guest, ilovepercyjackson246, Lightning-AND'Death, Demigodling Marauder.

Thank you guys so much! I love you all! I don't really have much to say except thanks and continue reading on! Oh, BTW, I have three more new stories in mind, so go to my profile and check that out!

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**Chapter 4: Panini's and library.**

Katie had never felt so overwhelmed in her whole life. It was Tuesday, her second day as a teacher and she had basically just met all the parents. Kyle and Alice's mother was a sweetheart, with bold red hair and the same green eyes as the twins. She was shy and quiet, but motherly and sarcastic. Andrew, their father, was a nice, caring looking man, who definitely was handsome. They were the perfect looking family with so much manner and looks. Possibly like an aristocrat.

Serena was just like her father with a mischievous look, but the pretty face of her mothers. Meredith was so obedient and patient, Katie almost told her to do something rash, but her husband, Nick, made up for her. He was a charmer and a talker, but Meredith didn't seem to mind, instead, she looked mildly entertained and amused.

Anthony's son, Sean, was a very intelligent one considering his age. He liked to read and write, from what she gathered, and supposedly took that after his father. But, his mother had a rebellious streak, which made him participate in pranks with Serena and Kyle. Natalie was a very nice woman, with pretty amber hair and a leather jacket. The two believed in different religions, but somehow found love within each other. How sweet…

She had also met Annabeth and Percy, another one of those, perfectly sweet and very talented family. Their daughter, Bethany was a sweet little thing with an expecting brother. She was a little younger, but still had an intelligent mind and the cuteness. Blonde hair and sea foam green eyes.

Thalia and Nico di Angelo were a different batch. Their son, Xavier, was dark and brooding, with ebony black hair, but icy blue eyes, probably from his mother. He seemed to be an exact replica of Nico to the pale complexion and the black hair, even to their style! They were a very gothic family but Katie enjoyed their presence; Thalia was a bit like her: sarcastic, but funny.

The parents all came to greet Katie for her new day, or second day, probably hearing the news from Meredith, Andrew, or Anthony. Annabeth and Thalia seemed to know something different, but were clearly trying to hide the fact with nonchalant answers and expression. Percy had almost fallen on his butt after learning her name. Nico remained aloof, but his pinky had twitched. (How she saw that, she had no idea) Nick nudged Meredith and whispered in her, taking secretive glances at the brunette. Valerie, the mother of the twins, merely smiled and welcomed her, her stance never failing.

Travis and Melanie were quite different. He was the only single parent family, having told that Melanie's mother had passed away when Melanie was only one. And from there, Travis was both mother and father. It seemed from other stories that he was a very hard worker, often not returning home.

Katie's head had been hurting all morning. Each time she met someone new, she felt a searing pain from the back of her head as if she herself was trying to obtain something she had forgot in the past. Especially, seeing Melanie again had left her dizzy. But, her work was needed, and she couldn't let the other students down.

"Katie, take a break," Rachel called out from the other room, inspecting the room Katie was cleaning and let her green eyes linger on Katie form. She was hunched together with her fingers massaging her temple. She was breathing raggedly, and clutching the mop so hard, her knuckle had turned white.

"I'm alright," she rasped out. Rachel gave her an unconvinced look, and stepped in the room.

"Look, you've been over working yourself today, and I think you need some rest. Here, I'll call Annabeth. She doesn't have work today, so maybe she can take you out somewhere for lunch. You met her right, the blonde? Anyway, I think you should rest today. I'll explain to Juniper." Katie hesitantly thought about the offer. She would have killed for rest, but she didn't want to seem like a burden. She could still work, and she couldn't let some migraine stop her.

"I'm seriously alright. I can stay for another hour so-" she was cut off by Rachel's reprimanding tone.

"I understand you want to do something, Katie. But taking care of your body is a big job, too. Do you want your kids getting some sickness from you?" Katie sighed. There would be no winning for this one. Rachel had an unfortunate point. She did not want her kids getting the same headache as her.

"Alright, thanks Rachel." Rachel finally smiled and led Katie out.

"Oh, thank gods! I already contacted Annabeth! She said she'll gladly take you out. Don't worry, I already reminded her: no library. Seriously, sometimes I think the girl lives off of books." Katie chuckled. Annabeth was very nice to her, so she wouldn't have any trouble talking, but right now, with her migraine, she didn't think she could handle the books so well.

"Thanks," Rachel grinned.

"No problem! Hey, I think that's Annabeth! Better get going! I'll take over you students today." She passed Katie her burgundy colored bag and pushed her out the door.

"Bye, Katie!" Rachel smirked, slamming the door. Annabeth opened the car and smiled.

"Ready for lunch?"

* * *

Katie cleared her throat, uneasiness building up in her chest. The blonde woman seemed unfazed, if not relaxed with her presence. Katie frowned. She was never the type to _relax_ someone, but more like nag, or make them uncomfortable with piercing eyes. But this woman was almost, _almost _close to humming a tune with happiness.

Maybe it was the mood swings from pregnancy.

Maybe she was just sincerely happy.

Or, maybe her and her husband just had sex. Whatever.

Annabeth blinked, her bronze eyelashes caressed the bottom of her lids. She smiled, as if she knew what Katie was thinking.

"I didn't just have sex with Percy, Katie. He has work today." Katie nearly choked on her own spit. Annabeth was incredible; gorgeous, smart, and funny. Maybe, maybe if she was a lesbian, she could go for her. Too bad she was one thousand percent straight. And Annabeth herself had a husband.

"I'd date you if you and I were les." She decided to approach her on a humors matter. No need to get herself stuck in situations of ruining a soon-to-be friendship. Annabeth chuckled, never leaving her eyes off the road.

"Me too, but I promised Thalia first. She's the Goth girl with an equally Goth looking husband. Seriously, Thalia and Nico were like that since elementary. It's no wonder that her son took their taste in…everything." Katie silently agreed. The three of them definitely looked like they just stepped out of Hot Topics, with band shirts, ripped jeans, equally scary looking jewelry.

"They seem very nice, though."

"Yeah, Thalia's is PMSing all the time, but she's the best." Annabeth turned the car to her right, and parked at a café. She smiled brightly, but her grey eyes held a calculating gaze as if she was analyzing Katie.

"This is my favorite café. I usually come here after school ends to study or something." Katie was surprised. Annabeth goes to school? With a kid coming and a daughter, she found it hard to believe she would actually go, much less, have Percy agree.

As if sensing her questioning gaze, Annabeth turned to look at her as they walked in the slightly stuffed place.

"It's not that hard, actually. I had Bethany when I was twenty one, so it was tough at first, especially as were only had two years to get used to adulthood. Luckily, Percy already had a job by the time she was born. He's a marine biologist on the weekdays, and on weekends, he coaches for diving lessons. I did have a job for a while-a secretary for some CEO, but sitting in a chair for hours, typing and glaring at the computer bored me to the depth of hell. So, I asked Percy if I could go to college as soon as Bethany was born.

He argued back, of course. He told me Bethany needed me this part of her life. But, I really needed my degrees, so I argued back. Both Percy and I are really stubborn, so naturally we had a two week of useless fighting till Percy gave up because I wouldn't sleep with him. He's such a horn dog, really. Anyway, so, I started school, then four years later, this little buddy decided to show up. It was a good thing I graduated just in time. I should start my next school after this one's born." She gently caressed her stomach, giggling softly at the kicking. Katie's headache momentarily came back, a loose memory of her being in pain.

_Blood. So much blood…_

_The woman whimpered, blood pouring from her open wounds. She was in an ambulance, a paramedic trying to stop the blood from flowing any longer. Tears escaped the from the woman's green eyes as she knew it was hopeless._

_The accident was indescribable, a mortifying sight for civilians and paramedics. The drunk was taken to the police, and the man who was calling out to his wife looked both desperate and angry and hopeless._

_Desperate because he wanted her to live._

_Angry at the man with his carelessness and his drunken state._

_Hopeless because somehow, deep in his mind, he knew she would suffer a great deal of loss._

_A woman handed him a water bottle. She gave him a reassuring squeeze of hand before leaving to her husband. A child gave him a hug and told him to be happy. Two seventeen year olds came by and handed him some food. Every civilian seemed to notice the loss was greatly affected. He was outside the hospital bed, as they operated an immediate surgery on her._

_He couldn't think the thoughts of her dying. It was impossible. She was strong headed and stubborn. She wouldn't-couldn't die that easily. He forbade it._

_She had a family she was supposed to go back to. Cook him and her food, and smile and welcome him home every day. She was supposed to love her and him and be the best._

_Three hours. That was how much he had to wait till the red blinking light finally snapped back to the dark color. He was immediately standing, waiting patiently for the surgeon to come out. A man about forty looked up from his glasses, taking off his gloves and mask. His eyes held a timid, yet hesitant look as he approached the anticipating man._

"_She's alive? Is she well?" he bombarded the guy with questions. The guy nodded, and Travis let out a breath of air he was holding. But his happiness died quickly as he watched the regretful look the doctor had._

"_She will have no memory of herself from the age of sixteen."_

"Are you alright?" Annabeth asked the woman who looked pale as a ghost. Katie nodded stiffly, remembering that she had an audience to take care of. Katie ordered a sandwich and coffee while Annabeth had a shake and Panini.

"Sorry, it's just that I've been having a huge headache all day. No wonder Rachel told me to scam, I probably look like crap." Annabeth looked mildly entertained. She nodded as the waitress came back with the drinks.

"Rachel's pretty blunt sometimes, but she has an artists' point of view. You know them; they tend to differ from non-artistic people. Rachel's always been different. She's very nice though." Annabeth took a sip of her shake and practically glowed when her Panini arrived. She was devouring her food like a vacuum cleaner, looking positively healthy.

She glanced at Katie and apologized. Waving her hand to have her continue, she started on her sandwich as well.

"So, how's life as a teacher?" Annabeth asked as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Oh, it's wonderful! I love kids, really. Bethany is very smart for such a young girl," she remarked, Annabeth looking guilty at this.

"I burned into her little brain that books were a necessity in life. I wanted her to become something big; bigger than my dreams. I hadn't been there to help her, so I try my best now." She admitted regretfully. Katie nodded, understanding her situation.

"It's weird how parents bond like that. She's very open to discussion too, Unlike Xavier. He's very reserved and doesn't talk much. I think the parents' influence is too big on him." Katie told Annabeth, looking slightly shamed. She shouldn't have opened her big mouth. This was said mother's best friend!

"It's true," Annabeth nodded, looking disturbed as well. "Thalia has a bit more emotion than Nico, but you can't blame him; he doesn't have any memories of his past life before thirteen." Annabeth explained. Katie widened her eyes. Just like the flashback, Nico had no memories either.

"I see. Are you all childhood friends?" Annabeth nodded, looking stricken as her piece of food diminished quickly. Katie passed her other half of sandwich which the pregnant woman gratefully took.

"Yeah, we met Nick, Valerie, Meredith, Andrew, Natalie, Anthony in our High School years though. They were a bunch, we were a bunch, and together, we merged."

"They seem very interesting. They all have really unique personalities." Annabeth laughed at this.

"Seriously, I don't know where they get this from. They're all polar opposites of each other. Natalie is a badass rebel, and Anthony's the 'goodie-goodie'. Andrew is a bubbling ball of joy, while Valerie is very reserved and shy. And don't get me started on Nick and Meredith! Nick was such a playboy, and Meredith was practically known as the prettiest, innocent virgin in high school."

"No wonder their kids seem to have split personalities." Katie mused while Annabeth snorted.

"Except Xavier, He's so apathetic for a young boy." Katie finished her drink as Annabeth had hers. She stood up and went to the cashier, Katie reaching out to stop her.

"Don't worry about it. It's my welcome gift for you." Annabeth smiled and paid for the food.

"Thanks," Katie thanked and helped Annabeth to the car. Annabeth squeaked as she was looking through her wallet.

"Shit! My library books are supposed to be turned in today." She slyly smiled at the nervous Katie who was promised she wouldn't be taken to the library. Annabeth gestured to her car and the books behind her seat.

"To the library!"

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**my lovely beta, toe walker (: and to my dedicated fans who doesn't want me to burn to a crisp for this super slow update. **

**i watched the Mortal Instruments and holy damn. i'm in love with Simon. **

**i'm getting so addicted to Naruto. does anyone ship my shipping/OTP? sasusaku, naruhina, shikaino, nejiten. asdfghjkl;.**


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